Coal Energy vs. Solar Energy

The world's supply of fossil fuels is becoming increasingly diminished. As these materials deplete, traditional sources of energy such as coal are becoming more expensive and will eventually stop being economically viable. This impending situation has people looking towards the future of renewable sources of electricity such as solar energy. Although solar energy has many advantages over coal, it also has many shortcomings. Let's compare solar power with coal power.

Materials

Coal power is produced by the burning of either brown coal or black coal. Coal comes from plant matter that died millions of years ago and became buried deep in the earth. It is made mostly of carbon, but may contain other elements such as hydrogen or sulfur. The amount of coal that we have access to is limited and will continue to decrease over time. As the amount available decreases, the price will increase.

Solar power, on the other hand, doesn't use any material that comes from the earth. It works by collecting the sun's rays using large solar cells that can convert them into usable energy. Technically speaking, the sun's energy is finite. However, solar energy poses no risk of depleting the sun as the rays would have come to the earth whether or not the panels were there to collect them. Since sunlight is free, there is no cost for materials with solar energy.

Environmental Effects

Coal is a very dirty source of energy. The burning of coal causes harmful gas emissions. These emissions are primarily made up of carbon dioxide, which contributes to the greenhouse effect and global climate change. There is also a risk of these emissions containing cancer-causing substances known as carcinogens. Emissions from coal plants are also linked to respiratory conditions such as asthma. Another consideration is that coal plants produce a few thousand tons of waste products each year that must be disposed of.

Solar energy, on the other hand, poses no risks due to emissions or waste products. Although the process to create solar panels does cause some emissions, the same can be said for any other machinery used to generate power. However, the amount of space required for an effective solar power plant is quite large. This size requirement runs the risk of interfering with local ecosystems.

Energy Efficiency

Although coal is dirtier and more scarce than solar energy, it is also much more efficient. Solar power costs nearly three times as much to produce as coal power. Even with the increased costs of solar energy, it is very difficult to use solar energy to power large regions due to space constraints and weather conditions. The climate in certain regions may render a solar power plant almost completely ineffective.

Clean, limitless power sources such as solar energy are the kinds of technology that will lead our cities into the future. However, for them to replace fossil fuel energy sources such as coal, they must be made much more efficient. It is likely that our power infrastructure will evolve to include very diverse types of energy production depending on the needs and possibilities of different cities.

A lot of homeowners have saved so much money by building their own domestic solar energy panels. Not just do they save thousands of dollars on electricity bills, they are capable of installing photovoltaic panels at a price that is a lot cheaper than what a commercial company would charge.

The most recent trend in designing a house design is to invest in a solar power system. It is usually simpler than collecting all the particular items one at a time as we are make sure that they will all interact skilfully.